The invention described here may be made, used and licensed by the or for the U.S. Government for governmental purposes without paying me any royalty.
Some trucks in the United States Army combat support fleet have a cab that tilts forward to permit access to the truck""s engine compartment. When the cab lowers from its tilted position, it rests on a floating bracket mounted by shock absorbers to the truck""s chassis. To prepare the trucks for air transport, the shock absorbers are depressurized so that the cab lowers as far as possible to clear the ceiling of the aircraft""s cargo bay. The cab must be locked in its fully lowered position lest it swing up, damaging itself and the cargo bay ceiling.
Conventionally the cab is locked in position by fingers extending from the shock absorbers through mounting brackets fixed to the chassis. Holes in the fingers align with holes in the brackets, and pins are thrust through the aligned holes to fix the fingers to the mounting brackets. A problem with this locking method is that the fingers"" position relative to the mounting brackets varies with each lowering of the cab, so that aligning the holes is difficult. Consequently, locking the cab in position with the present apparatus is time consuming and tedious.
I have a new mechanism for locking the cab in its fully lowered position. My mechanism has a first arm fixed to the floating bracket. The connection between the first arm and floating bracket allows the mechanism to be moved inboard or outboard relative to the truck and its chassis. My mechanism has a second arm pivotally mounted to the first arm by a fulcrum element. The connection between the first arm and fulcrum element allows the fulcrum and second arm to be lowered toward, or raised away from, the chassis. The second arm has a projection that engages an elongate edge on the mounting bracket, thereby locking the cab in position. The projection stays engaged with the edge even if the floating bracket and shock absorber move forward or backward relative to the truck and chassis.